Is There a Normal Weight for a 6'1" Person

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ANDREA CESPEDES Last Updated: Jul 18, 2017

Andrea Cespedes

Andrea Cespedes is a professionally trained chef who has focused studies in nutrition. With more than 20 years of experience in the fitness industry, she coaches cycling and running and teaches Pilates and yoga. She is an American Council on Exercise-certified personal trainer, RYT-200 and has degrees from Princeton and Columbia University.

People of the same height can post different weights on the scale and still be perfectly healthy. Men tend to weigh more than women of the same height because they naturally have a greater amount of muscle mass, which weighs more per square inch than fat tissue. A 6-foot, 1-inch tall person's weight may also vary according to his body shape and composition. Instead of judging your size using a number on the scale, consider your eating habits, physical activity level and fat distribution when figuring out if you're at a healthy weight.

Normal Weight Range for a 6'1'' Person

It's normal to weigh between between 144 and 188 pounds if you're 6 feet, 1 inch, according to Rush University Medical Center. This weight range puts you at a healthy body mass index, or BMI. BMI is a mathematical relationship between your height and weight. Too high of a BMI puts you at greater risk of chronic disease due to being overweight or obese. A healthy BMI range is 19 to 24, while overweight is 25 to 29, and obese is 30 and above. A 6-foot, 1-inch tall person who weighs 189 to 226 pounds has a BMI in the overweight range, while 227 pounds and above qualifies him as obese.

Body Composition and Weight

BMI measurements can be inaccurate if you're an athlete or body builder, or if you naturally have a very slender build. You may weigh more and qualify as "overweight" according to your BMI and still be perfectly healthy because of the low amount of fat on your body. A healthy amount of body fat for a man is between 6 and 18 percent, and, for a woman, between 14 and 24 percent. More athletic people fall into the lower end of the range. In the same manner, if you're naturally slender, you might be healthy at a lower-than-average BMI if you're living a healthy lifestyle.

Body fat levels of above 20 percent in men and 30 percent in women qualify you as overly fat, even if you're of "normal" weight and a healthy BMI. Being overly fat puts you at risk of diseases usually associated with people who are obese, even if your weight doesn't qualify you as so. These include heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers. Another way to determine if you're overly fat is to measure your waist. A waist size greater than 35 inches for woman and 40 inches for men indicates high levels of fat that could put you at an increased health risk.

Body Shape and Weight

People fall into three general body shapes: ectomorph, endomorph and mesomorph. A 6-foot, 1-inch tall person who is an ectomorph is lean and lanky and doesn't amass much muscle mass; he may weigh on the lower end of a healthy weight range. A mesomorph is usually stockier, more muscular and heavier; his BMI may read too high, but he has a healthy body fat percentage. An endomorph stores body fat easily and may need to watch his weight to stay within a healthy weight and fat percentage zone. No body type is better than another; they're just different ways of comparing how people store fat.

Healthy Living and Your Weight

Your doctor can help you assess if your size is healthy for your height. But if you pursue healthy living habits, such as eating mostly whole, unprocessed foods and getting at least the 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardiovascular exercise recommended weekly by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, you're on track to manage your weight.

If you do need to lose weight, create a calorie deficit of about 500 to 1,000 calories per day by moving more and eating less to lose 1 to 2 pounds per week. Cut out high-calorie foods that don't offer much in the way of nutrition; examples include soda, white bread, baked goods, candy, snack crackers and chips. Increase your physical activity to 250 minutes or more per week, and add strength-training to help you maintain and build valuable muscle mass, which keeps your metabolism burning even as you reduce calories.